For a 32 year old man, I may be a bit old fashioned in my practices, but I believe strongly in honesty in marketing. Sometimes I like to take a light-hearted and fun stance on it, such as my last post, Spies Like Me. Today, I am frustrated. Quick story before I get to the point of this blog post.

I called a prospect this afternoon to check in on the proposal I sent out last week. After a minute or so of him fumbling around for an apology (he promised to contact me once he heard the final decision), he informed me that they had chosen another company. My usual response at that point is to find out why, so I can learn from the experience. What I found out is the reason for my current frustration. The very thing he told me to do last week (to give me the best chance of winning the proposal) was the very thing that caused me to lose it. Even though he was on the board that chose the proposal, he gave me information to help in my quote that sabotaged my chances. He lied. I wish I knew why. People, no matter what side of the sales process you are on, being honest is VITAL. When sales people lie, they push the stereotype of the snake-suited used car salesman. When purchasers lie, they destroy any motivation of the sales person to be honest. Honesty builds; lies tear down. Please treat people on both sides of the situation with respect and honesty.

Sorry for the side note, but I had to throw that in, because this specific image below ties in with the honesty issue, but in a slightly different context. Here is the image from Contently Marketing:

The image places “new marketing” vs. “old marketing” in a comparison to determine which style is better. There are a few problems with the picture. First, the difference between one-way and two-way communication is the desire to listen. Just because a company uses social media does NOT mean they are actually listening and forming a dialogue with their customers.

Second, “new marketing” is not only made up of certain tools. The accurate definition of “new marketing” has to do with TRACKABILITY; or how easy it is to measure it success. The new marketing paradigm is all about saber-metrics (coined in the baseball world by Billy Beane). It is about taking away all subjective issues and making decisions purely based on numbers. “New marketing” has plenty of room for TV commercials, as long as they are acutely tracked for ROI.

Third, providing value is not only subscribed by the “new marketing” as suggested in this image. Companies have been striving to provide value since the first corporation formed. Quality marketing from those companies have been able to provide value to their customers long before social media and SEO was invented.

Lastly, quality marketing does NOT seek to just educate or entertain. A good marketing strategy is defined by its ability to earn revenue. Education and Entertainment are both good ways to build revenue streams, but not the only ones, and TV commercials have been seeking to entertain for decades.

Please do not fall for uneducated propaganda such as this. Make good decisions for your business based on data, numbers, and research. “New marketing” as I would define it, means just that. It means doing what it takes to earn revenue from your prospects through honest and targeted campaigns, reaching them where they are at. (Hulu seems to think there is still a good place for commercials in this world). The one thing they are correct about is the vital importance of dialogue in your marketing. If you are not listening to your consumer audience, then you cannot succeed – it’s as simple as that. People will not buy today if they do not feel that they are heard; that’s the postmodern version of building trust.

By the way, inbound vs. outbound? Inbound marketing is about encouraging leads to “come in” to buy from you. TV, media, etc… all fit that description. Outbound means the company is going outside to directly make the sale (such as door-to-door sales or cold calling). Thanks for allowing my rant. Have a great day!